A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2018

Updated: January 24, 2018

It’s 2018 and Americans are more burdened by student loan debt than ever.

You’ve probably heard the statistics: Americans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt, spread out among about 44 million borrowers. That’s about $620 billion more than the total U.S. credit card debt. In fact, the average Class of 2016 graduate has $37,172 in student loan debt, up six percent from last year.

But how does this break down at a more granular level? Are student loans being used to attend public or private universities? Is it mostly from four-year or graduate degrees? What percentage of overall graduates carry debt? Are more grads utilizing private student loan consolidation and refinancing?

Let’s take a look.

BONUS: Get a PDF of these statistics to print out, save, or send

General student loan debt facts

First, let’s start with a general picture of the student loan debt landscape. The most recent reports indicate there is:

$1.48 trillion in total U.S. student loan debt

44.2 million Americans with student loan debt

Student loan delinquency rate of 11.2% (90+ days delinquent or in default)

Private student loan debt statistics

From 2011-2012, borrowers didn’t take advantage of federal student loans as much as they could have: 19 percent didn’t take out Stafford loans, 8 percent didn’t apply for federal financial aid, 11 percent applied for federal aid but didn’t take out a Stafford loan, 28 percent had Stafford loans but borrowed less than they were eligible for

In 2011-2012, 48 percent of private loan borrowers attended schools that had tuition costs of $10,000 or less

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